Veteran Actor SS Rajendran Dies at 86

Veteran actor SS Rajendran, who was hospitalised on Thursday, October 23, has passed away at 10:45am on Friday. 

The 86-year-old actor was hospitalised, following lung infection. "He was admitted to Meenakshi Hospital yesterday (Thursday) in critical condition. He passed away this morning (Friday) due to issues related to lung infection," a family source told the IANS.

SS Rajendran made his acting debut with "Parasakti" in 1952. His style of dialogue delivery and clear Tamil pronunciation earned him good fan-following in 50s and 60s. He started acting in films at the age of 12 by joining PK Subba Reddiyar's drama company 'Puliya Maanagar Boy's Company'.

Some of his best works as actor include "President Panchatcharam"," Thedi Vandha Selvam"," Modern Theatres Kumudham", "Pillai Kani Amudhu", "Ammaiyappan"," Ratha Kanneer", "Kuladeivam" and "Kalyanikku Kalyanam".

He had acted with big names of his times like MG Ramachandran, Sivaji Ganeshan, Jayalalithaa, B Saroja Devi, Padmini, Raja Sulochana and Kanchana.

Apart from acting, he produced and directed a few films. He wrote and directed "Thangarathinam", "Alli" and "Mani Magudam". He entered politics by joining the DMK party and unsuccessfully contested from the Theni assembly constituency.

He used his films to propagate the ideologies of DMK. In 1962, he won his first election from the same constituency and became the first actor in India to get elected as a Member of Legislative Assembly.

Later, he left DMK and joined MG Ramachandran's AIADMK. He contested and won the election from the Andipatti constituency in 1981.